


You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Anakin is a genie, F/M, Genies, Padme frees him, Slavery, because of course she would, but it's still set in the Star Wars universe, no idea when I will update this, really REALLY cracky AUs I mean, so here I am adding another one, there are not enough really cracky AUs in this fandom, you have been warned okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 18:59:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18971116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: “This is completely ridiculous, but if what you say is true, then there’s only one thing to do,” said Padme. “I wish you were free.”She had half a second to appreciate the look of bug-eyed astonishment on the genie’s face before the light-show began.Or: Padme inherited a ring and a genie. As soon as she realises that the ring isn't all she inherited, she does something about it.





	You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me

**You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me**

The ring had belonged to Padme’s late grandmother, but Padme had never had the occasion to wear it before. It was a pretty, delicate little ring, made of gold and garnets, and partly it was Padme feeling sentimental and partly that the ring perfectly matched the dress she planned to wear to the Senate Ball, but she decided, tonight of all nights, to wear it.

No sooner had she put it on than there was a billow of smoke, and Padme was abruptly no longer alone.

Padme stared wide-eyed, shocked into silence for once, at the young man standing in front of her. He had quite literally appeared out of thin air, and while Padme was not the sort of person to go into hysterics even at the sight of an unexpected apparition, it was fair to say that she was knocked off-balance.

“What–” was all she managed to say before the young man spoke.

“Greetings, Master,” he said in a stilted voice, and Padme – who was already putting two and two together from all the traditional folk-stories she’d read as a child – thought, _you cannot be serious_. 

But the young man’s next words confirmed her wild suspicions. 

“I am the Genie of the Ring.” He folded his arms into the sleeves of his robes, and waited, his expression a blank mask.

“This has to be a joke,” said Padme, her sense of reality trying to reassert itself. But the young man – the _genie_ – only gave her a baleful stare, and Padme resigned herself to the fact that the universe no longer made sense. She could worry about that later.

“You’re the Genie of the Ring,” said Padme, and the genie nodded. “My _grandmother’s_ ring.”

The genie nodded again.

A horrible suspicion assailed Padme.

“My grandmother… did she know? About you?”

There was a hint of a sardonic look from the genie, swiftly hidden as he lowered his gaze.

“Yes, Master.”

Well, that was… exceedingly horrible, but Padme pushed that train of thought aside for later, and took a deep breath.

“This is completely ridiculous, but if what you say is true, then there’s only one thing to do,” said Padme. “I wish you were free.”

She had half a second to appreciate the look of bug-eyed astonishment on the genie’s face before the light-show began. 

When it was all over, the… _former_ genie was left kneeling on the floor, looking absolutely stunned.

“You… you wished me free,” he said, his voice filled with disbelief. “Without even making a wish for yourself.”

That, too, was filed away for later, when Padme had the space to be angry at all the people who had kept a living being in bound servitude, including, apparently, her grandmother. 

But there was a person kneeling on Padme’s bedroom floor, looking at her with an expression that made Padme’s heart ache, and she didn’t have the space right now to be angry. Not if she was to treat the former genie with the gentleness he deserved.

“Of course,” said Padme, refusing to allow her inner turmoil to become visible. She wasn’t the victim here. Her own upset feelings could wait. “I couldn’t in good conscience allow you to remain a slave when I had the power to set you free. It wouldn’t be right.” 

But the former genie looked at Padme as though she was being obtuse, and said, “You don’t understand. Five thousand years of – of this, and _you set me free_.”

_ Five thousand years?!  _ Padme thought, and a wave of pure horror washed over her.

__

Acting on an instinctive impulse, she fell to her knees beside the former genie so that they were at eye-level, ignoring the fact that she was crinkling her expensive gown.

“I’m so sorry,” said Padme. She reached out to put a hand on the former genie’s shoulder, but snatched her hand back as he flinched.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Padme added, appalled at what that tiny flinch betrayed.

The former genie looked at her, his expression wild around the eyes.

“I – I think I believe you,” he said, and let out a broken laugh. “You _freed_ me. I–”

Whatever he was about to say, it was lost in a sob. 

The next moment, he was crying. Really, genuinely _crying_. He didn’t make a sound after that first sob, but his entire body was wracked by deep, shaking spasms of emotion. Padme stayed kneeling next to him, unsure of what to do to help him.

Eventually, however, his shaking sobs died down, and the tears stopped flowing. The former genie wiped his eyes, and looked at Padme.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice still choked and raw. “I can’t – I can’t repay you enough.”

“You don’t need to repay me,” said Padme. “You don’t owe me anything. All I did was what any good person would have done.”

She watched as the former genie’s mouth twisted.

“Then I guess I haven’t known any good people for a very long time,” he murmured, but it seemed to be more to himself than Padme.

“Probably not,” Padme was forced to admit. “But no one deserves to be a slave. _No one_.”

The former genie sent her a look filled with wonderment.

“You… honestly believe that,” he said. “You don’t care that I could have made you rich beyond the dreams of avarice, or beautiful enough to make men despair at the sight of you, or–”

“No,” Padme interrupted, her voice firm. “I don’t. I don’t condone slavery.”

“ _Slavery_ ,” said the former genie. 

He laughed a little, and then buried his face in his hands. His voice, when he spoke, was muffled because of the gesture.

“You know, I wasn’t even allowed to _think_ the word slavery. As though what was done to me was right and normal. But it was, it was _slavery_ , and I’m finally allowed to say it, and none of my former masters can stop me.”

“That’s right,” said Padme. “You’re free. You can think and do whatever you like.”

The former genie raised his head, and he looked at her with such a look of blazing joy that Padme smiled back involuntarily.

“I’m free,” he repeated, and began to laugh, bright and a little breathless and utterly delighted. “I’m _free_. No lords, no masters. Just me.”

“Will you be alright?” asked Padme, because she was the one who had owned him, however briefly, which meant that ensuring he had the resources he needed to survive alone was her responsibility. “Do you have somewhere you can go? Resources you can draw on?”

The former genie blinked at her, and then laughed again.

“I have phenomenal cosmic powers at my fingertips, and you ask if I’m going to be alright?” He shook his head. “Are you an angel?”

“What?”

“Because I find it hard, after five thousand years, to believe that any ordinary being could be so… compassionate,” he said, but he was smiling, so Padme chose to take the words as a compliment.

“Thank you, but I assure you, I’m just an ordinary human.”

“You’re not,” said the former genie, and then he added, “Ordinary, I mean.”

“What’s your name?” Padme asked, sidestepping the need to respond to that comment, because quite frankly she had no idea how to do so.

“Anakin,” said the former genie. “My name is Anakin. What is yours?”

“Padme – Padme Amidala.” Padme let out an awkward laugh. “Or at least, that’s the name I took up when I entered politics. Before that, my surname was Naberrie.” Padme tried to claw back some semblance of grace and composure. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Anakin.”

“You’re a… politician?” Anakin looked politely dumbfounded.

“A senator,” Padme confirmed with a smile. “I served as the elected Queen of Naboo for two terms before I stepped down. I had planned to take a break from politics after that, but when the current Queen asked me to represent our people in the senate… I couldn’t refuse.”

There was a long pause.

“You’re very different from most of the politicians I’ve known,” said Anakin, finally breaking the silence. It was clear that he was attempting to be diplomatic with his choice of words. 

“Thank you,” said Padme, a little amused. “But not all politicians act purely out of self-interest. Some of us genuinely wish to serve our people as best we can.”

“You know, since it’s you saying that, I’m going to believe that you mean it.” A wry expression twisted Anakin’s mouth. “Most people, I wouldn’t.”

“That’s very flattering.” Padme was feeling awkward again, and trying not to show it.

The silence stretched out a second time.

“I should go,” said Anakin, looking stilted again. 

“You don’t have to,” Padme blurted out. “You can stay here. If you want. That is, if you have somewhere that you wish to go, then by all means do so; but if you think that you’re inconveniencing me, I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.”

“Thank you for the invitation,” said Anakin, “but I have… _people_ … who will want to know that I’m okay.” He hesitated, and said, “But if you don’t object, I wouldn’t mind… visiting.”

Padme took a moment to think over her own position, and the fact that she knew nothing about this – was _man_ the right word? Did former genies use the same constructions of gender that most species in the Republic did? – this _being_ , besides the fact that he had been a genie.

And that Padme’s grandmother had owned him and treated him like a possession instead of a person. She couldn’t forget that.

Padme let out a deep breath, and let go of any misgivings.

“Of course,” she said. “You’d be welcome.”

Anakin smiled then, shy and a little crooked and remarkably good-looking all of a sudden, and Padme’s mental reaction was, _oh no_ , _why is he handsome._

“In that case, Padme, I will see you again soon,” said Anakin, and he vanished into thin air.

Padme was still kneeling on the floor. With difficulty, she managed to climb to her feet despite the heavy, stiff silk gown she was wearing. She dropped gracelessly into the nearest chair, and stared at nothing in particular as she tried to process everything that had just happened.

By pure accident she glanced at the time-keeper on the wall, and realised she was nearly an hour late for the Senate Ball. Glancing down at her somewhat-crinkled dress, Padme argued with herself over whether she ought to go.

With a sigh, she decided that she would miss too much if she didn’t attend the ball – late and imperfectly-attired or not. Her thoughts and emotions were churning from tonight’s revelations, but out of long habit, Padme deliberately put everything but the role she had to play out of her mind.

She had a duty to her people, and she was going to do it, regardless of how she felt at present. She could have feelings about all of this later.


End file.
